Dawoud Rajiha

Dawoud Rajiha (1947-18 July 2012) was the Chief-of-Staff of the Syrian Arab Army from 2009 to 2011 and Minister of Defense from 2011 to 2012. In both posts he was preceded by Ali Habib Mahmud and succeeded by Fahd Jassem al-Freij.

Biography
Dawoud Rajiha was born in the capital of Damascus, Syria in 1947 to a Greek Orthodox Christian family. He graduated from the Military Academy of Homs in 1967 as a specialist in the field of artillery. Rajiha served as the Chief-of-Staff of the Syrian Arab Army from 2009 to 2011, during which time he fought against rebels in the Syrian Civil War. In 2011, he was chosen by President Bashar al-Assad to replace Fahd Jassem al-Freij as the new Minister of Defense of the Syrian Army, so he became a new target for the Free Syrian Army and the opposition. Rajiha, military crisis team member Assef Shawkat (former Deputy Minister of Defense), and former Minister of Defense Hasan Turkmani were killed in a bomb attack on the military crisis team on 18 July 2012 in Damascus.